Big Man (Back) on Campus

Big Man (Back) on Campus

Rookie wide receiver Eric Decker went to school at Minnesota and now laces 'em up for the Broncos, which means he knows something about cold weather. Here in the Twin Cities, he stays warm in the kind of toggled, hooded, heavyweight duffel coats that will help you graduate to the next level, even if you're on a starter salary

The transition from campus life to working world is rough on any recent grad. And if you're a 23-year-old taking a new job far from home—like Broncos rookie wide receiver Eric Decker has—nothing helps ease the upheaval like a halfway decent roommate. In Decker's case, the team paired him in training camp with a particularly affable fellow first-year, some hardworking southern kid named Tim Tebow. "Being a receiver and a quarterback, we built an immediate bond," Decker says. And even if one drew a bit more attention than the other during preseason—Tebow a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champ, Decker merely a really, really good-looking Big Ten big shot out of Minnesota—all rookies ultimately put up with the same crap. "Carrying shoulder pads and helmets, bringing the vets breakfast—we get picked on together, and we laugh it off together, too," Decker says. "But you've gotta enjoy those experiences, man. You're living your dream." Which, in part, explains why he chose this career over one a little closer to family and friends. (The two-sport star was drafted by the Minnesota Twins as well.) "Waking up every morning with the chance to compete in the NFL? That just excites me a lot more than playing pro baseball." Even if it does take him away from the North Star State. "But Colorado reminds me of home," he says. "Only not as cold."—Daniel Riley